Avenue Saint

Tough period coming up yes, but no doubt about it, a lot of uncomfortable people at "bigger" clubs very Very nervous about saintd right now. Oh yeah and om tv for every game next 4 weeks

Have a feeling 4th place will come down to us or Man U

Some people just dont see it though. Probably same people that used to call for Paul Wotton and later Dean Hammond in his place!

Believe me in a defensive midfield role, Schneiderlin could slot in to ANY club in the world.

Always seemed dodgy to me. Check his history

Chambers having a very uncomfortable afternoon aginst Swansea's Montero. Poor game

Sat in kitchen corner today. Not an easy game what with them parkinh up shop. Showed resilience to persevere. Well played Long. Tadic looked heavy legged all game. Fullbacks class. Man of the Match: WANYAMA. absolutely owned the midfield. Rock and stepped up again yhis season with improved passing game. Up the Saints. Ps good banter with leicester lot

Cheers for that mate.

Clyne was excellent last year, but has improved further this season under Koeman. As have most of the team

Les Reed was a genius appointment.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/premier-league/11187565/Southampton-1-Stoke-City-0-Sadio-Mane-hits-winner-as-Ronald-Koemans-side-move-up-to-second.html Just loved reading this article so had to post it up. Take a bow: Jonothan Liew Southampton vs Stoke City, Premier League - Hosts also hit woodwork four times in first 50 minutes as fans chant "we're going to win the league" Is it an illusion, or do*Southampton*look so much better after shifting all that dead wood from their squad in the summer? Here, the outstanding team of this Premier League season took another giant leap away from the relegation battle many had predicted for them, moving above Manchester City and into second place. “We’re going to win the league,” their fans chanted, and they were only half-joking. It may not have been the 8-0 demolition of Sunderland last weekend, but what will have made this win all the more satisfying for Ronald Koeman was the way it showcased both sides of Southampton: not just the team that have scored more goals than Manchester City, but the team that have conceded fewest goals in the Premier League. Time and again, Stoke pounded against the door in the second half, only to be met with a wall of tactical discipline and an immaculately-laid offside trap. “It’s nicer to win like this,” said Koeman. “Defending is not only for the defenders. Defending starts in front. That’s the key to our position, that’s the reason why we stay so high up in the table.” Besides, Southampton should really have been out of sight by then, hitting the woodwork four times in the first 50 minutes. Having seemingly begun the season as the team nobody wanted to play for, Southampton are now the team nobody wants to play. Once again, the new signings had a terrific afternoon. Sadio Mane scored the only goal of the game and ran circles around Phil Bardsley on the left. It was from that flank that the early chances came: Steven Davis and Graziano Pelle missed one each. On the other wing, Dusan Tadic started making an impression after about 20 minutes. Stoke left-back Erik Pieters was clearly under orders to stick to him like cling film, but when Tadic was able to shake him off, he looked dangerous, forcing Asmir Begovic into a sharp save at the near post. From the resultant corner, Morgan Schneiderlin rattled the crossbar. Stoke City*were not entirely passive: Victor Moses used his familiar feint-and-shuffle to dart in between Nathaniel Clyne and Jose Fonte, but could not shoot cleanly under pressure. Yet you sensed Southampton were getting closer, and sure enough, just after half an hour, a free-kick from the right was headed weakly away to Pelle. Pelle’s first shot, a left-footed bullet, smacked against the bottom of the post. Mane reacted quickest, slamming the ball into the roof of the net. Southampton were cruising, but to a large extent Stoke were letting them. To combat this sort of multiple threat, you need plenty of running and a midfield prepared to plug gaps wherever they appear. And here Mark Hughes erred in selecting Charlie Adam rather than the more logical option of Steve Sidwell. Adam is one of those rare footballers who – in the nicest possible way – already looks a couple of decades into retirement. In his languid yet gently teetering gait can perhaps be glimpsed the Adam of the very near future: legends tournaments on Sky Sports 4, cheesy adverts for betting companies and roofing supply contractors, long afternoons in his favourite armchair. For all his undoubted gifts on the ball, containing one of the most dynamic midfields in the Premier League proved sadly beyond him here. After taking a blow to the calf in the first half, he looked neither willing nor able to press at pace or support his full-back, and it was little surprise when he was hooked just seven minutes into the second half and replaced with Mame Biram Diouf. Adam’s substitution allowed the more mobile Steven Nzonzi to sit deeper, and with Diouf offering tenacity as well as pace on the break, Stoke instantly looked more threatening. But although Stoke saw more and more of the ball, Southampton continued to create chances. Pelle hit the crossbar with another header. Koeman introduced Victor Wanyama as midfield sentinel, almost a third centre-back, snuffing out trouble before it happened, like a crime-fighter of the future. Even with the introduction of Marko Arnautovic for Jon Walters, Stoke never quite had the guile to unpick them, although Bardsley’s cross would certainly have been prodded in by Diouf at the far post had his legs been just a couple of inches longer. Four minutes of injury time offered few alarms for Southampton. “They’ve had a great run,” Hughes admitted. “They’re going to have a period when they go up against the bigger sides, but they’ll go into it with good heart. Perhaps we showed them a little bit too much respect.” Stoke will be fine. They are not a bad team by any stretch, but here they simply came up against a side at maximum confidence, assured in their roles and full of players demanding the ball. And as Liverpool found out again today, confidence does not have a transfer release clause. Southampton*(4-2-1-3): Forster 6; Clyne 7, Fonte 8, Alderweireld 8, Bertrand 7; Cork 7 (Wanyama 62), Schneiderlin 7; Davis 8 (Gardos 90); Tadic 8, Pelle 7, Mane 8. Subs: Davis, Yoshida, Mayuka, Reed, Long. Stoke: (4-2-3-1): Begovic 7; Bardsley 5, Shawcross 7, Wilson 6, Pieters 6; Cameron 6, Adam 5 (Diouf 53); Walters 5 (Arnautovic 69), Nzonzi 6, Moses 6 (Assaidi 79); Crouch 6. Subs: Sorensen, Huth, Sidwell, Bojan. Booked: Shawcross, Wilson.

All £30m of it? Wheres the tv money?

Why does he feel the need to say if money is available? Are we not carrying a net profut from the last round of sales?

An utter travesty of an excuse for an england manager trousers.

Tadic man of the match. Clyne and bertrand best english fullbacks in the game right now. Saints to finish top 6 this season!

What the feck is the matter with you boring, moronic tw.at. Give it a rest ffs!

Fans voted man of the match

Let him know about it at st marys the thick idiot.

Can we not play 4-2-3-1? Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama..Schneiderlin Long.....Tadic....Mane Pelle If 4-3-3 Then replace Long with Cork to free up Morgan to get forward, with Tadic and Mane either side of Pelle

Spurs fresher and hungrier than us today. 10 changes for them. Tactically 2nd best also. They had muscle and men in middle of park. Thats where game was lost. In 2nd half, where we could easily have taken something, i thought tadic couldve gone number central with long and mane with pace for outside. Tadic lacked pace and never really got better of rose. Has looked tired last 2 games especially qpr where crosses lacked weight and generally sluggish. Mane needs to track back more but understandably will need time to adapt. Pelle no serivce. Wouldve had cork on for 2nd balls for davis. Forster did ok. All in one of those games. Lets win the next couple and smash them at st marys! As soon as jrod is fit, mane needs to go on right, jrod on left with tadic playing middle behind pele making the play .

Nutter.

When all fit, this is our strongest lineup in opinion: Forster Clyne Fonte Alderweireld Bertrand Wanyama Schneiderlin Mane Tadic Rodriguez Pelle

Goalkeeper needed.

Arsenal, yes. The rest up for debate. Utd will buy defender(s) in january, but before then if we can build up a head of steam, then who knows! Its a game of small margins, and our real worry is Forster. If he gets injured, that could spell trouble! Up tge Saints